Heartless Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart Convent School cannot be allowed to get away with a light punishment. It is apparent that the school had failed miserably in its obligation. In fact it has directly abetted the suicide of Ruchika Girhotra.This can be easily gauged if one has to follow the chain of events. The school had expelled Ruchika for not paying fees. This after the molestation of the teenager by Rathore. At the time of this unfortunate incident Ruchika was still on the rolls of the school. Rathore’s daughter was her classmate. Ruchika had attended school after the incident. It would have been obligatory on the school to have counseled Ruchika and to have tried and erased the pain and the hurt the teenager must have been going through. The trauma of the teenage must have been aggravated when the school became hostile to her instead of being a guardian and a counselor to her. The age of the girl who was exposed to sexual molestation-the harassment the family was undergoing thanks to Rathore and his influence extended into the school premises. This is unpardonable. Sacred Heart School became heartless and decided to stand by the powers rather than abide both by their religious congregation’s vows and by its bounded duties to its students as an educator.

One is wary on the Report which has been submitted by the school to the CBSB and surely records could have been easily tampered. It was already stated by the church official who was the spokesperson for the school that they would appeal to Delhi.What did that mean-a threat or a warrant or a guarantee that nothing can touch them because of the sheen of a minority institution? And whom are they going to appeal to? Who are their supporters in Delhi-Let us be honest. If it is the Inter-Nuncio it must be asserted that he has no role nor say in matters of justice and jurisprudence of this country. If it is Mrs Sonia Gandhi then it is worse because this does not fall in the political area for her decision to count. Then which wires are the Sacred Heart Convent School trying to pull to be let off the hook?

I appeal to the media to see to the logical end of the Ruchika’s case and not to be biased and to do all that is within its scope to get justice for Ruchika. It is obvious that had there been some help and understanding Ruchika would not have been pushed to take such an extreme step. Abandoned by all-the girl must have been grappling with her emotional, psychological and social problems-apart from the sufferings and harassment of the other members of her family. It was at this junction that the school strikes her off its rolls. What can Ruchika do and where can she go? That act of the school must have been like the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Let us for a moment hypothesize-the school is not Sacred Heart Convent but run by a Hindu organization and Ruchika humiliated and driven from one to another is Mary Ann. How would the media react and telecast the ‘We the people’ and the Big Fight’ and one can imagine the justified unbridled anger of Arnab Goswami not even giving a chance to the panel to air their views, condemning the school and its authorities. Here the case is reversed and the victim is Ruchika Girhotra and the school-SACRED HEART CONVENT. Should we then understand the stony silence of the media? Should we realize why Bakhra Dutt shows no compassion-nay no interest? This is the tragedy of India today. We have hundreds of Ruchikas-denied justice because of the warped perception-the tentacles of the minority appeasement reach out to every area. The religion of the victim and the perpetrators become the key to justice and no justice. The media trumps up this to the extent it fails in its role to uphold Justice.

Bring to book the Sacred Heart Convent school-make it a case of accountability of the educators. Make it an example that Justice cannot be silenced by powerful and the mighty. And towards this religion cannot negate justice. I am sure the CBSB chairperson Vineet Joshi will see in Ruchika his own daughters and granddaughters and assure the rest of the parents that their children’s rights will be protected.

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